How to Write Programs

Hardware is not difficult to understand. It is nuts and bolts and
microchips. But what is software? Perhaps the easiest way to think of
it is in terms of a simple analogy: hardware is to software as a
television set is to the shows that appear on it. Computer programs,
rather like those aired on TV, are a man-made effort to turn lifeless
hardware into something one might want to spend
some time with.

Programs, like television scripts, are "written"not in
English, but in English-like commands that vary from machine to
machine....